SECTION ONE: Frame a research topic (550-600 words)
A brief overview of the topic
Establish a single research question (this differs from the dissertation title) and develop a series of sub-questions to be explored throughout the dissertation
Do the research question and sub-questions provide a clear idea of what the research project is about/hopes to address?
How will you collate your research? If you intend to conduct interviews or distribute questionnaires (not mandatory – perfectly acceptable to rely on books and articles) please outline the questions you intend to ask.
What do you foresee being the outcome of the research project?
SECTION TWO: Construct a literature review (600-700 words)
Suggested literature review outline:
For a third-year study, it is recommended to review at least five pieces of academic literature.
Literature review Introduction
Briefly introduce the topic of the eventual essay you plan to write
What type of literature are you reviewing?
The scope of your literature
Literature review main body
Made clear the name of the author/s, the title of the publication, and when it was published?
Given an indication of the kind of audience, the material is intended for? (e.g. university students studying the subject, specialists or experts, general readers, or other)
What are the main arguments or points of the text? (This is the most important thing in your review.)
Provided an idea of the academic discipline the reviewed text fits into (e.g. music analysis, film studies, music history, philosophy, etc. etc.)?
Discuss the text’s usefulness to your particular research?
Literature review conclusion
Summarise your ideas (consider the links to your final essay)
Summarise the important aspects of the existing body of literature
SECTION THREE: Critically reflect on the ethical considerations of the chosen research topic (150-200 words)
Outline how data will be collected
Explain any potential ethical considerations or, conversely, fully justify how your research does not infringe any ethical guidelines
SECTION FOUR: Construct and implement a realistic research timetable (150-200 words)
It is useful to work out how many weeks you have until you need to submit your completed dissertation and draw a chart showing these weeks. Block out the weeks when you know you will be unable to work, and mark in other main commitments you have that will take time during this period. Then allocate research tasks to the remaining time.
It is very important to be realistic about how long each task is likely to take. Some focused thought at the beginning, then at the planning stage of each phase, could save hours later on. Write down the resources needed for each stage. It could be a time in the library; the resource of your working hours; or the use of equipment or room space that needs to be booked in advance.
